Lithuanian citizen
Aleksej Besciokov, a 46-year-old Lithuanian citizen and co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, was detained by Kerala Police in Varkala on Tuesday evening.
Wanted by the US Department of Justice for financial fraud, Besciokov had come to Kerala on vacation with his family when the authorities took action based on a directive from the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of Patiala House Court in New Delhi.
The arrest, carried out on an Interpol red corner notice, is a major milestone in the global pursuit of the suspected crypto criminal.
According to reports, the US DOJ unsealed an indictment against Besciokov on March 7, 2025. He is accused of playing a key role in facilitating billions of dollars in money laundering for transnational criminal and cybercriminal networks.
The indictment also names Aleksandr Mira Serda, a 40-year-old Russian national residing in the UAE and alleged co-founder of Garantex. Besciokov faces charges of money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to violate sanctions, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
In operation from 2019 to 2025, Garantex was a prominent cryptocurrency exchange before it was sanctioned by the US government in 2022. Besciokov, as the main technical administrator of the platform, managed important infrastructure, transaction approvals, and smooth operations.
The exchange is alleged to have processed billions of dollars in illicit proceeds, enabling high-profile offenses such as hacking, ransomware attacks, terrorism, and narcotics trafficking that negatively impacted US victims.
After his arrest in Varkala, Besciokov will be kept in remand in Kerala for two days before being taken by train to the Patiala House Court in Delhi on Thursday for additional interrogation and investigation proceedings.
A provisional warrant of arrest had been issued by the ACJM Patiala House Court under the Extradition Act, 1962. In a coordinated action, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the IPCU cooperated with the Kerala Police to effect the arrest, with intentions of extraditing him to the United States for trial.
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